Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress and former singer. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss? and as Phoebe Halliwell on the supernatural series Charmed. She also has a new female apparel clothing line, Touch. She has a recurring role on My Name Is Earl, playing Billie Cunningham. She got her start in acting by starring in the Broadway show Annie. Early life and career Milano was born in New York City, the daughter of Italian American parents Lin, a former fashion designer and talent manager, and Thomas M. Milano, a film music editor and a well-known boating enthusiast. She has a younger brother, Cory (born in 1982), who is also an actor, but has more recently started a band, called Chloroform Days, in which he is the lead singer. Milano was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Staten Island and was raised Catholic. She began her career at the age of 8 when she won a part in an open audition for a national tour of Annie. She appeared in television commercials and off-Broadway productions. At the age of eleven, she earned her first major role in the TV show Who's the Boss?, alongside fellow Brooklyn native Tony Danza, Judith Light, Danny Pintauro, and Katherine Helmond. She starred as Samantha Micelli, the daughter of Danza's character, Tony Micelli. When Milano won the role, her family relocated from Staten Island to Hollywood. She produced a teen workout video in 1988 called Teen Steam. In 1985, Milano was in the film Commando as Jenny Matrix who was John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger)'s daughter. A few years later this film was shown in Japan prompting a producer to offer Alyssa a five album record deal. Later career At the beginning of her career, Milano was known mainly for her role on Who's the Boss? (1984-1992). She tried to shed her "nice girl" image by nude or topless in a sequences of erotic films targeted at adults, starting with Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story (1992). Embrace of the Vampire (1994), saw her play a nude photographic model and magician's assistant, who is seduced by the (female) photographer and (male) magician for whom she works, both of whom subsequently turn out to be vampires. The film featured a number of specially designed illusions from the magician's vampire themed show, including producing a nude Milano from an empty coffin, levitating her, impaling her on a wooden stake, and burning her alive. The films Confessions of a Sorority Girl (1994), and Deadly Sins (1995) followed, and in 1995 Poison Ivy II: Lily. The last was criticised as partial rehash of Embrace of the Vampire: Milano played a topless magician's assistant to Xander Berkeley's magician, and the film even reused some of the footage of a nude Milano on stage participating in illusions from the earlier film. She gained more mainstream success in TV as Jennifer Mancini on Melrose Place (1997-1998), Meg Winston in Spin City, and most notably as Phoebe Halliwell on the eight year run of the popular series Charmed (1998-2006). Both Milano and close friend Holly Marie Combs became producers for Charmed during the show's fifth season. She played the role of Eva Savelot in MCI's 1-800-COLLECT commercials. In 2007, Milano filmed a pilot for ABC entitled Reinventing the Wheelers. The series was not picked up for the 2007-2008 season, but instead, Milano appeared in ten episodes of the show My Name Is Earl. This reunited her with Jaime Pressly who guest starred in the two part Season 5 premiere of Charmed, "A Witch's Tail". She is set to reappear in the fourth season of the show, reprising her role as Billie Cunningham. On stage, she starred in Tender Offer, a one-act play written by Wendy Wasserstein, All Night Long by American playwright John O'Keefe, and the first American musical adaptation of Jane Eyre. She returned to the theater in 1991, when she starred in and produced a Los Angeles production of Butterflies Are Free. Milano also appeared in the Josie music video by Blink-182, and in 2007, Milano began appearing on television again in commercials for Veet and SheerCover. Milano was part of TBS' special coverage installment Hot Corner for the 2007 Major League Baseball playoffs. She reported at Fenway Park during the ALDS between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. She also reported at Chase Field during the NLCS between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Milano starred in the 2008 film ''Pathology'' alongside Milo Ventimiglia, and was then cast in a television sitcom, Single with Parents, which was pulled prior to production. Personal life Milano has dyslexia. In an interview in 2004, Milano explained how she deals with the disorder: "I've stumbled over words while reading from teleprompters. Sir John Gielgud, whom I worked with on The Canterville Ghost years ago, gave me great advice. When I asked how he memorized his monologues, he said, 'I write them down.' I use that method to this day. It not only familiarizes me with the words, it makes them my own." Milano is also a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2007 she created her own signature "Touch" line of team apparel for female baseball fans, currently available on Major League Baseball's website, along with her own baseball blog. She also has an interest in the Los Angeles Kings, a National Hockey League team and is involved with a related clothing line. In 2008, she expanded that to NFL football, as a New York Giants fan. Since Milano is in the same hometown as NFL Network's Rich Eisen (Staten Island), she revealed some of her family's connections with the New York Giants while she picked the winners of NFL games for week 7 of 2008.Week 7 celebrity picks: Alyssa Milano Milano has eight tattoos on her body, including one on each wrist and ankle, shoulder, neck, hip, and lower back. Milano is a vegetarian and appears in numerous PETA advertising campaigns for vegetarianism, including their controversial "You wouldn't eat me..." campaign. Outside of acting, her hobbies include photography, humanitarian work, and spending time with her three dogs and eight horses. In 2005, she was ranked #5 in the '50 Cutest Child Stars -All Grown Up'. Milano briefly dated Justin Timberlake in 2002. She has dated a number of professional athletes, including Brad Penny, Carl Pavano, and Barry Zito. She is currently engaged to CAA agent David Bugliari; the couple became engaged on December 18, 2008, after more than a year of dating. No wedding date is yet set."Alyssa Milano is Engaged!" US Magazine. January 6, 2009. Philanthropy Milano was appointed Founding Ambassador for the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases to which she donated $250,000. The Global Network is an alliance formed to advocate and mobilize resources in the fight to control neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Milano will work to raise awareness of NTDs by educating the mainstream media and general public of the plight faced by the one billion people who are afflicted by NTDs, and the importance in controlling and preventing this global health crisis. Milano is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States. She traveled to India, as well as Angola, to work with UNICEF field officers there. She raised approximately $50,000 for South African women and children with AIDS by selling her own and a school's photo work. Filmography Films TV series TV appearances Discography Studio albums Compilations Singles Footnotes: * 1 Non-album Single. * 2 Only released in France. Other recordings * "Teen Steam" - Theme song from Alyssa Milano's Teen Steam Workout Video (1988). External links * Official Site References